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3.26.2010

Finally, someone missed. Xavier's Jordan Crawford missed a three-pointer and then his teammate Brad Redford missed another, and finally it was over. After 50 minutes and 197 points in the most epic battle in this most epic of NCAA tournaments, Kansas State could finally move on to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1988. ~Kelli Anderson/Sports Illustrated

Epic is right. As in so epic, I’m having trouble thinking of any other words to describe it …

For most of last night’s K-State/Xavier game I was only half-watching, working on projects and then talking on Skype with my parents -- for the first time, I should add. They barely had their new toy out of the box when they were ringing me for a face-to-face computer chat.

As the end of regulation neared, and the barrage of points was just beginning, it seemed like everyone put down what they were doing and started to pay closer attention. My Facebook and Twitter accounts began lighting up, and we were all taking great pleasure in the NCAA tournament classic unfolding before our eyes -- commenting, cheering and jeering as if all of us were in the same living room …

My friend Dionna: I am NERVOUS!

Me: Are you kidding me!?!! It's raining threes!!!

My friend Jason: SERIOUSLY!!!!??? they can NOT miss a 3!!!!!!!

My friend Matt: Are you kidding me? You might as well put Pullen and Crawford out there alone and whoever misses first loses.

My friend Lisa: OMG! Andy just woke me up. Figured the games were over long ago - but no at 11:25 I see 2OT and time left on the clock!

Gosh, I love social media!

It was just as fun to hear the excitement in the voices of the guys broadcasting the game on CBS. Oooh! They shouted with every three-pointer that went down.

So many incredible plays were made that exuberant CBS announcer Gus Johnson was bursting out of his midcourt seat between overtimes to celebrate the spectacle. ~Kellis Robinett/Kansas City Star

I’ll echo what every college basketball fan seems to be saying. This year’s tournament has been one of the most exciting tournaments I can recall -- at the least, since some of the mind-boggling tourneys of the late 90s. Remember Weber State over North Carolina?

I’ve benefited by holding on to three of my Final Four teams -- K-State, Kentucky and Baylor, along with West Virginia and Duke. Although I’ve predicted a Duke loss tonight.

And while I’ve got not a single stake left in the midwest bracket, I’ll also be cheering Northern Iowa to the Final Four -- because gosh darn they’ve been fun to watch and that Farokhmanesh kid is pretty dang good.

* * *

Life isn’t nearly as fun if you can’t find laughter in the things that threaten to keep you down …

Tim Urban. The kid finally delivered a performance that I kind of enjoyed with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” It helped that he was singing a song I really like. And I thought the vocals were as good as I've heard from his mouth … That said, I totally got what the judges were saying about his performance being corny and feeling like a “High School Musical” audition. His stage presence felt awkward and forced.

Most surprising performance of the night goes to Aaron Kelly on “Don't Want to Miss a Thing.” I loved his tone and the liberties he took with the melody, and the way he held onto notes … Plus, the puppy love between him and Miley was sort of sweet.

On the other hand, Crystal (look at how I don't even need to use her last name at this point ...) appeared less than pleased to be taking advice from Miley -- although, I think that’s more of a reading on Crystal’s hard shell than of any actual feelings she might have about Miley. Either way, I thought Crystal's slowed-down take of “Me and Bobby McGee” was her most captivating performance yet. The girl was in a world of her own on that stage tonight, smiling and letting go, and it was soooooooo fun to watch. She also looked really good ... I’m with Simon; I wouldn’t change anything.

The footage of Michael Lynche singing to Miley Cyrus made me stop everything I was doing. Based on that footage, I had started to think that perhaps I was about to hear the most beautiful version of “When A Man Loves A Woman” ever recorded … But a minute into his live performance, I was thinking just what the judges said when it was over: too many riffs, I lost my connection with it, I was loving the one scoop of ice cream and then the kid behind the counter gave me nine more scoops, and the ice cream started to make me sick.

Katie Stevens performed “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” … Ugh. First, it’s Fergie’s song and it’s a one-of-a-kind song that Katie couldn’t possibly have matched. Second, I don’t know where Kara got her pop/R&B vibe because I was totally hearing country twang from Katie tonight. Seriously, I was watching Katie perform and thinking: Tammy Wynette. I’m just saying.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Casey James’ “Power of Love.” My only critique -- and it’s kind of a biggie -- he had zip for stage presence.

Didi Benami’s performance of “You’re No Good” was good … not great. I agreed with the judges -- I didn’t get the song choice and it didn’t feel like Didi. Good thing she’s so darn cute.

And believe it or not, Siobhan’s performance (Don't need to say her last name either ...) of “Superstitious” was among my least favorite of the night. I thought her rendition was hokey. And seriously, she’s gotta pull back on the screaming before she starts getting Adam Lambert-style annoying.

In recent years, I’ve gone to Summerfest wondering whether my run might end -- the kind of feeling I suppose an athlete has when his career is in its twilight. … At Summerfest, it’s the notion that the crowds appear to be getting younger and more immature, the music sounds louder and the array of bands less appealing.

Last year, when I went to the magnificent festival for a record-low two nights, I figured maybe the time had come. I figured my youth may have finally escaped me and my concert days were waning.

A few weeks ago when Cubs tickets went on sale, I was gritting my teeth and doing all I could to hold back on purchasing a couple seats. The mantra “Wait ’til next year” has taken a whole new meaning now.

Indie-pop darlings the New Pornographers - made up of some of the best and busiest in the music scene - will play the Pabst Theater at 8:30 p.m. June 12. The eight-member outfit, including mastermind A.C. Newman and songbird Neko Case, releases its fifth album, "Together," in May.

My bracket also lost out on the Villanova, Murray State and New Mexico games. As of this morning, I sit fifth in the office pool, and I still have three Final Four teams playing, but with Kansas -- my national champion -- out, my stock is sure to drop.

After watching Villanova get knocked out of the tournament, I donned my Jayhawk blue and hit the road to my friend Tom’s house for the big game … Kansas didn’t look good from the start, of course, but I was quick to deny that. Nothing to worry about, it’s only the first half, I said.

But the game’s second half wasn’t any better than the first. Tom and I were on our feet in front of the television for the last 12 minutes, bemoaning every ill-advised shot, mishandled rebound and turnover. Even little Kieran was shouting at the TV and beating his toy drum in frustration, “Oh no! Come on!”

Then, then! With the minutes waning, the Jayhawks showed some fight! They stole two consecutive inbound passes! They closed the deficit to one point! Our hearts were pounding! They had a chance!

Within seconds, Kates, who had been watching the game in K-Town and texting me throughout, was calling my cell phone. I looked at the caller ID and rolled my eyes. “Doesn’t she know better?” I said to Tom.

“Hello.” I answered the phone as if someone had just died.“Are you ok?” Kates asked“Yeah, I’ll be ok.” I should give her credit -- she knows my Jayhawk passion well enough to immediately offer support in these tough times.

In the minutes afterward, Tom and I wandered the room, lamenting the loss and making comparisons to other Kansas bracket busters. Bradley in ’06. Bucknell in ’05. Syracuse in ’03. Rhode Island in ’98. Arizona in ’97 …“That was brutal” … “That may go down as one of the biggest Kansas chokes” … “I feel like going outside and just burying my head in the snow” ... “Hey, 2008 was fun!” ...

The TV analysts discussed and showed the KU miscues over and over and over. My social media pages started lighting up with messages about busted brackets, crushed hopes and teasing from KU-haters. A Jayhawk nation was stunned and left wondering … how?

The thing is, we know how. We’ve watched this scenario play out again and again for Kansas in the tournament, and it makes me pause every year when I begin to fill out my brackets. Looking back on the season, and past defeats, Tom and I came to the realization that this year’s team lacked a killer instinct. They were complacent. They tended to play to the level of their competition. Joe Posnanski also has a great blog post this morning explaining exactly those themes.

We dined on some homemade tacos and watched Kansas State win its game over BYU with glazed eyes. I’ll be cheering for Kansas State in the tournament now, if only to salvage some pride for the state I love.

By 10 last night I was working my way back to The ’Ville, dealing with the cherry on top of our emotionally challenging day -- 8 inches of snow on the first day of spring, not to mention the start of the university’s spring break … We’d heard the weather forecasts but chose to ignore them. Then the white stuff started falling around 4:30 Friday afternoon, and when I heard the snowplow outside my window yesterday morning, I figured the scenery wasn’t to my liking.

Nonetheless, I ventured onto the roads and handled the weather just fine. I’m from Wisconsin after all! … Coming home last night was a little tougher. By then, several more inches had fallen and I had an amusing time pushing my Little Green Machine through it just to get out of Tom’s neighborhood.

When I hit the Interstate it became apparent that the snowfall must’ve made the Missouri plows too nervous to even clear the roads. But again, I handled it, cruising past the less-confident drivers at a steady 40 mph and proudly displaying my Wisconsin license plate on my rear -- if only for a few more months.

Just when my focus on all the snow had nearly helped me forget the shock and sadness of the Kansas loss, Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” started playing on my iPod and conjured all the images from the game. Ugh.

Oh, but life goes on. Like the others, this loss won’t change my life. And there will be a new season of Kansas basketball to celebrate next year.

3.20.2010

It’s playing in my head when I wake. While I work. And when I hit the bed.

But the thing I like best about it -- along with the power pop beat, the rolling piano accompaniment and the epic chorus -- is the memories and images it conjures up from my night with the OneRepublic boys at Carthage. That was the night this band earned my respect and made me a fan.

Blech!I'm not opposed to advertising at Wrigley Field ... as long as it's done tastefully. This proposed plan doesn't do that.

If the illustration in the Tribune story is an accurate depiction, and I believe it probably is, the sign would totally take away from the aesthetics of the surrounding archtecure that help make the ballpark so wonderful.

I'm with Jim Peters ...

"It's a vertical sign on a design that's horizontal. It's very obtrusive."

The fact that this rumor got ANYWHERE gives you an idea about how hungry we in America are for dramatic trade talk, no matter how illogical. And this is as illogical as they get. Albert Pujols is the most popular athlete in St. Louis -- probably the most popular athlete in St. Louis since Stan Musial. If the Cardinals were bound by law to either a) Trade Pujols or b) Change the team name to the Budweisers and going with a drunken guy wearing a beer hat as their logo, they would lose fewer fans going with b).

3.19.2010

As today’s NCAA Tournament first round games wrap up … I’m sitting happily in a three-way tie for first place in the Funnest Office Pool Ever, which, for the record, has 60 entrants this year. What’s more interesting is that the three of us at the top are former employees of the place.

Only the Notre Dame and Marquette losses were upsets I never saw coming … I had picked Georgetown to advance to the Elite Eight on some influence from my mother -- even though my gut told me Ohio State was the better pick; “Don’t count out Georgetown!” she said. Aye. Should, woulda, coulda.

This afternoon, work kept me from seeing the double-overtime BYU-Florida game (I accurately picked BYU), and that Notre Dame-Old Dominion thriller … But tonight’s games more than made up for them. Every game left me holding my breath!

In that Texas-Wake Forest game, Texas started running all over Wake in overtime, and I figured it was over when Wake went down by eight; Texas was cleaning up. But Wake somehow worked its way back into the game and then won it with a last second two-pointer that sent me dancing around my living room.

Still, as fun as it was today, I know it's still early. And my story might be completely different tomorrow.

Traditionally, I’m fairly liberal with my upset picks, sometimes too liberal probably. But this year that appears to be working to my advantage.

I had started filling out my brackets on Monday night but stopped halfway, completely and utterly confused about the direction I was heading (Good thing, too. In my original bracket I had Florida and Richmond winning today.) … So I let my thoughts wander on Tuesday and Wednesday. I continued listening to the gurus on ESPN. I continued to pour over the records and articles in USA Today.

I was still waffling on my bracket as the clock moved into Thursday, having watched the “Idol” results show and proofing 60 magazine pages. Finally at around 12:30 a.m., I completed my bracket with Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor and Kentucky as my Final Four picks …

In a nutshell, I called my shot to Kates weeks ago, predicting Kansas and Syracuse in the championship game. Now, with the way the brackets are set up, Kansas and Syracuse could only face each other in the Final Four’s semi-final … Even then, Syracuse has faltered down the stretch and they’ve been hurt by injuries. Also, the Big East hasn’t lived up to its hype in the tournament in recent years, and the Big 12, arguably, has been the toughest and most competitive conference in the nation this year -- hence my endorsements for Kansas State and Baylor in the Final Four.

As I have every year, I’ve inserted Kansas in my Final Four with some trepidation -- because, as any Kansas fan knows, their play in the tournament hasn’t always lived up to the hype of their regular seasons (I'm feeling lucky they made it past LeHigh tonight). And yet, here I am, staying loyal and believing again that this could be “the year,” putting them as the national champion in my bracket over Kentucky.

For the record, me, my mother and 30 others have Kansas winning it all in our pool. Nine have picked Kentucky.

3.16.2010

On paper, I’ve never considered myself a huge Rolling Stones fan. I’ve always been Beatles all the way … Then I started delving farther into classic rock during my adulthood, I began collecting vinyl records and became friends with a die-hard Stones fan …

The more I listen to them, the more I love them -- and the more I realize their songs have become a huge part of the soundtrack for my life.

Needless to say, I was stoked going into tonight’s “American Idol” because it was Rolling Stones night.

Some big songs. So in a way, I was kind of dreading tonight’s “Idol” experience, fearing what some of the contestants might do to the songs … Add to that, nothing about this season has had an easy flow or predictability to it. The performers have been all over the board, and the judges feedback have been just as contradictory. My thoughts about this season have felt just as scatter-brained.

I sat up in my chair when I heard Tim Urban was doing “Under My Thumb” (Simon!? A boring song!? Wha!? Where‘s the love for your fellow Englanders?) … And then I slumped right back down a few moments later, sick of his reggae play on the song. Randy categorized it perfectly: Bizarre.

(For the record I put my Stones records on the moment the show was over -- mostly to get Urban’s coconut version out of my head, along with some of the unfortunate events on tonight‘s show.)

Casey James’ “It‘s All Over Now” was just ok. Andrew Garcia’s “Gimme Shelter” was too hokey for me. Aaron Kelly’s “Angie” didn’t do it for me. Katie Stevens’ “Wild Horses” was way too, um, mild.

I thought Lacey Brown killed “Ruby Tuesday” -- and not in a good way. I want to like Lacey, but the girl has such a fragility and uniqueness to her voice that her performances don’t work unless she picks just the right songs. I gave up halfway through her performance tonight and headed to my kitchen for a snack.

Michael Lynche falls into similar territory for me. Clearly he has gobs of talent and a smooth R&B voice that reminds me of Luther Vandross. At this point there’s no doubt he’s a force among the top 12 … But I’m just not that into him. Maybe it’s because I prefer the rock/pop vibe over the R&B/Soul. Maybe it’s that I get what Simon is talking about when he calls Big Mike’s performance of “Miss You” a little corny.

Didi Benami came out with “Play With Fire.” I didn’t love the song choice, but I was captured by the emotion and, as Kara noted, the intensity she gave her song. I really like that Didi’s starting to turn it on -- finally!

Siobhan Magnus. Really, should any of us have been surprised that she picked “Paint It Black”!? … I was totally having flashbacks of Adam Lambert -- only better. But Simon said it as I was thinking it -- like Adam Lambert, with that scream of hers, there are going to people who will really like her style and others who won’t. So far, I really like it.

Still, after Siobhan, the first performance to really get me smiling was Lee Dewyze’s “Beast of Burden.” I loved the arrangement; I loved the toe-tapping, laid-back vibe he gave it.

And then there was Paige Miles. Girlfriend broke out “Honky Tonk Woman” -- on top of her laryngitis! -- and rocked her way back to the top tier of the contenders. She used the stage, she hit some big notes, I was totally entertained. And yet Kara appeared so disappointed that Paige did so well, because we all know how the judges like to play favorites.

And then there was the grand finale. Crystal Bowersox singing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” … To that point, I had been wringing my hands in hopes that no one tried to tackle “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” It’s a huge song, and it’s one of my all-time favorite songs. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to take a wannabe toying with it.

At exactly 8:30 p.m., I was enjoying Andrew Garcia’s fresh take on “Genie in a Bottle” when, halfway though his performance, the local FOX station’s signal cut out, apparently zapped by a thunderstorm in the area … When it happened, I wondered if I should laugh or cry -- I leaned toward laughing. The FOX station announced tonight it would air the show in its entirety at 4 p.m. on Sunday -- because it’s going to draw mega viewers then, after the people who really care have watched the missed performances on YouTube, read about them on blogs and the Top 12 is old news.

(Mock me all you want, but have I mentioned how much I love “Fireflies?” … To add to it, Kates told me she was driving with Phoebe this afternoon and the song came on the radio. Phoebe reacted by shouting “Daddy!” -- A product of the number of times Phoebe and I bounced around together while listening to the song last fall.)

And I reacted almost the same way when Alex Lambert started strumming “Trouble.” I also clapped when he inserted a pause in the first verse. I loved his performance and genuinely thought Alex Lambert had secured a spot among the top guys. How wrong I was.

Final note: Matt Giraud and Scott McIntyre’s piano duet on “Tell Her About It” was surprisingly fun to watch. Like David Gokey last week, it’s great to see them really enjoying themselves and holding lots of possibilities in front of them. Caught this version during a search on YouTube ...

3.07.2010

The marching orders come immediately, with the newborn photo, which must be e-mailed to friends before a baby has left the maternity ward. A conscientious father — chief executive of the budding business — must snap dozens of shots of the modestly wrapped newborn, generally with a Canon PowerShot though sometimes with a showy digital single-lens-reflex camera or a lowly cameraphone. Back at a laptop, he uploads the haul, scrutinizing pixels with the intensity of Anna Wintour. He selects a becoming one. The mother signs off, often via e-mail, from her hospital bed.

Interestingly, I stumbled on this story this morning just a couple nights after reading about and finding "STFU, Parents," a blog that lampoons parents who go a little overboard with their Facebook status updates ...

And now that I'm self-conscious about producing and posting too much about my kid. I'll end this post and move on to another topic ...

3.06.2010

The father answers, "Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, and Googled each other. There, your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little pop-up appeared that said ... 'You got male!' "

I don't like the NCAA's notion of expanding its basketball tournament one bit.

The Washington Post has another story on the issue this morning that got my blood pumping, and Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan's comments (see the end of the story) do have some merit -- believe me, I know all about and appreciate the benefits of change -- but tournament expansion is one idea I can't understand. It would dilute the tournament, and I've already been turned off by Division I football because of the BCS mess.

The major conference coaches complaining about their teams' inability to break into the current tournament doesn't sit well with me, and Kentucky Coach John Calipari's statements in this morning's Post story concur with my sentiments ...

If major conference teams feel they are losing berths to mid-major teams, Kentucky Coach John Calipari said: "Then play better. Finish higher. I just don't agree with [expansion]. Where it is right now, it is hard to get in, which makes it neat. It is hard to be seeded right, which makes it great.

"When I was in those other leagues, it would be aggravating that certain leagues would say they should get nine teams in and we should get one. 'What? We beat four teams in your league.' 'Yeah, but that was different, that was in December.' 'Yeah, but we beat them by 20.' 'Yeah, but we had a guy out and the officials killed us.' It blew me away."

She loves playing with her “hair pretties” and dropping them in empty milk jugs to shake them and make fun noises that drive Mommy and Daddy nearly insane … She’s honing her cleaning skills by sweeping and vacuuming the floor with her talking friends … She enjoys dumping her play food on the floor so there’s barely enough room to walk … And she’s getting really good at stacking blocks as high as she can reach.

She’s been climbing onto chairs and furniture for months. But now she’s figured out how to climb into her hi-chair, bounding into it like a monkey -- and making my heart skip every time I’ve see her try it. Although, she’s also spending more time sitting at the big table … Haven’t caught her climbing out of her crib, though.

Topping everything, the girl’s vocabulary never fails to amaze us. The moment a word leaves our mouths, she's repeating it and embedding it in her little brain … On one night I won‘t soon forget during my visit in January, I moved to plug in my laptop when I realized I didn’t have the power cord and I let an “Oh, shoot!” slip from my mouth. A second later, Phoebe was repeating me. “Oh, soot!” she said … It could have been worse. Good thing I don’t curse.

The word of this week is “shovel” -- or “shobel” in Phoebe-speak. She learned the word after Kates arrived home one day this week and had to shovel snow from the sidewalk. To keep Phoebe occupied, Kates handed her a kid-size shovel from our garage; Phoebe wasted no time copying Kates, and another word was embedded in brain … Earlier tonight, Kates told me about her and Phoebe taking a walk around our block, with Phoebe trotting and carrying her "shobel" the whole way.

Last night, we caught Pheebs admiring her shoes, saying “cute shoes.” … Tonight, we were trading greetings of “whassup.” … She wastes no time celebrating her accomplishments and admitting her downfalls, saying “I did it.” … She loves all of her “animols” ... She loves to jump and dance, shouting the words and giggling as she does them … And she’s going through this unsettling phase right now of calling me "Mork."

She knows conversational basics, often greeting me with “Hi, Daddy, how are wou?” when I log on for our night time conversations. When I ask how her day was -- if she can stop drinking her milk long enough -- she answers, “good.” … Then, after a few minutes, she loses interest and she’s racing to her play room, singing, “Bye, Daddy, wuv wou!” -- her little head blurring off my computer screen.

In recent weeks, she’s also learned her ABCs, and her alphabet songs have replaced the non-stop dinnertime counting we were enjoying in December. No matter, it’s just as delightful ... Speaking of delightful, we also spent about 15 minutes last night watching and listening to her behave like an elephant.

We have “Noni,” and all of her daycare pals to thank for making her weekdays so bright and chocked full of meaningful playtime. Already, we could fill a room with the art projects Phoebe has brought home; Kates had started to cover our refrigerator with them --so Phoebe could always see her work -- until they had to go in boxes with most of our other personal belongings for realty show-and-tells …

Phoebe knows the word “mine” all too well, also. And she’s got full grasp of the word “no” … In fact, she’s even begun using it to stand up for Mommy. During some of our nightly Skype chats lately, when Kates and I disagree, Phoebe, amusingly, has been quick to respond by sternly looking me in my web cam eyes, throwing her hands down on the tray of her hi-chair and shouting, “No, Daddy!” Surely, she has no idea what she’s saying “no” to, but her response is mature enough to rival one of those talking E*Trade babies …

Clearly, since I’ve been away, Phoebe and Kates have become best buds. Not that they weren’t before, but as we talk each night, it’s easy to see the trust Phoebe has in her mother. Kates has been there everyday, whereas I’m mostly a face on the “ ’puter” right now … Kates has done a marvelous job at establishing — and sticking to — a routine for Phoebe to help her feel as secure and comfortable as possible.

With that, Phoebe’s also learning -- as I imagine most toddlers do at this age -- the art of manipulation. When she wants something, she’ll ask for it -- “mooovies” is always a popular request -- and before Kates can deny her, Phoebe’s saying “Ok, Mommy!” and moving to the DVD player in her funny, cute way like it’s a done deal. … Our other favorite Phoebeism lately is the way she shows no regard when one of us is busy, tugs on one of our hands and says, “Mommy, come?” Which is inevitably followed by the “Ok, Mommy!” -- and pulling Kates along like it’s a done deal. When Phoebe succeeds, rather, it results in requests of “ ’gain, Mommy! … Peas!”

Of course, when she doesn’t get her way -- well, the temper tantrums have never been more entertaining. Uncontrollable crying. Huge tears. Flapping arms. And then zombie-like walking to another room, arms lying low in defeat and utter despair.

While her storyline isn’t as memorable as some others -- say Katie Stevens' grandmother who has Alzheimers, or Crystal “Mamasox” -- I can’t recall a bad performance by Paige. I really enjoyed her take on "Walk Away," and she’s solidifying herself as a sleeper in the competition. So much so that I could see her winning the whole shebang, a la Jordin Sparks.

I’m not going to go any further than that because there’s still very, very little I’m enjoying about this season of “Idol.” (Katelyn Epperly's Coldplay cover: love the song, didn’t love her slooooow version of it.) … Even the group performances, which I usually enjoy, are unbearable to watch.

It is amusing to me, though, the ways some of the early “safeties” react to Seacrest’s proclamation that they’re not going home … Seriously, guys, the producers are not going to knock off the first name they tell Seacrest to call (I’m looking at you Tim Urban). In case you haven’t heard, "American Idol" has a whole hour to fill with sappy drama, panning camera shots and horrendous pauses. Oh, and we have to listen to the knocked-offs perform one more time for a reminder of how bad it was the first go around.

On one more note, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance from our Milwaukee boy, Danny Gokey, and I might just have to get his album … It was great to see him so happy and excited about life.

The laugh-out-loud, instant-classic lines came one after another -- with Oscar serving up my favorite line to Michael who becomes upset his hospital bag isn't packed and starts by looking for a dictionary: “The hospital will provide dictionaries. Bring a thesaurus” (as he looks wryly at the camera).

Michael’s interest, anxiety and joy for the whole process was, at times, even more amusing to watch than the emotions of Jim and Pam. Michael playing shadow to Jim as he tried to console Pam in the lunch room was another instant highlight. And Michael showing no restraint as he walked into the delivery room, holding a handful of gigantic balloons, while Pam was giving birth.

The sidestory of Dwight and poor Angela mapping our a parenting contract was just as hilarious ... My heart melted when Jim learned him and Pam were having a little girl … I was laughing with tears in my eyes as the male lactation consultant tried to help Pam while Jim sat nearby trying to distract himself with a magazine … And I couldn’t help but smile at seeing Pam and Jim trying to figure out the nuances of early parenthood …

But despite all the endless waffling from fulfillment to frustration, like “Idol,” that’s part of the show‘s hook: It’s almost impossible to predict what’s going to happen from week to week and you hold out hope for the big reveal, the ah-ha moment, the underdog to emerge victorious.

That said, I wasn’t giddy after watching this week’s episode -- ok, that fight scene with Sayid and Dogen was pretty dang good. But I was more thrilled to see Dogen and Lennon get whacked near the end and some movement toward getting the island gang out of that crazy temple. As if the sideways storylines aren’t mind-boggling enough, the whole premise of hiding in the temple caught on about as well with me as the whole Kate-and-Sawyer-in-cages travesty of Season 3.